Case Study

Challenge

Although Restaurant X* had all the ingredients for a profitable dining establishment, sales were stale and relied heavily upon weekend reservations.

• Over a span of nine months, the owner had raised menu prices three times. In an effort to trim costs and boost revenue, three members of the wait staff were let go.
  

Strategy

As another endeavor to stimulate sales, the owner of Restaurant X invested in educating his wait staff on the standards and art of selling wine.

• To ease scheduling and the cost of educating employees, Restaurant X used the online course published by GrowYourWineSales.com. While the owner was refining a new wine-by-the-glass menu, his staff learned the following:
  

  How to up-sell vintages The jargon of describing Wine service etiquette Pairing wines with compatible cuisine How to read patrons’ wine aptitude

  Outcome

Within three weeks time of educating staff and developing a new wine menu, sales at Restaurant X increased by 15 percent.

• Since the staff has been properly groomed on the appropriate way to sell pair and serve wine, they are able to make educated wine recommendations and are taking home better tips.

Feedback

Since I took the course, I noticed several new things in my service. First I have noticed a better response from my customers verbally. They seemed to enjoy me as a waiter more. Also, my tip has not only been higher because of increased sales, but because of the respect they have in my opinions and service quality. Lastly, I have had customers say they will be back and were more interested in my name so they may request me again. Without the course, I would would be just another average waiter.

Chris Jacobs

*To maintain the privacy of the restaurant, the name of the establishment has been changed.